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Hello, all. Attempts in the United States to articulate a peace response
before the bombing starts are continuing.
In solidarity,
Rahul Mahajan
http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0913-07.htm
Published on Thursday, September 13, 2001
A Call to Dialogue
by Rahul Mahajan
As the calls for war in the mainstream
media and the halls of power grow louder, with
Senator John McCain speaking for many when
he said, "God may have mercy on them, but
we won't," a different kind of response has
been building as well.
The peace community, from established
groups like Peace Action (www.peace-action.org)
and the Fellowship of Reconciliation
(www.forusa.org) to grassroots activists across the
country, has united in a strong,
consistent, and deeply heartfelt response. Reading the
statements being put out, one sees clearly
that the entire community joins wholeheartedly
with the nation in condemning the brutal
attack of two days ago, and in the fear, grief, and
shattering sense of loss it has occasioned.
There is also widespread agreement that
there should be no rush to judgment and no
massive "retaliation" that would target the
innocent civilians of any country. Noting that
international law does not recognize any
right of retaliation or vengeance (Chapter 7 of the
UN Charter, which governs the use of force,
requires that any action be taken only with the
permission, and under the auspices of, the
Security Council, the only exception being
self-defense against imminent attack which
does not include vengeance for past attacks),
Peace Action and others are calling clearly
for any remaining perpetrators to be brought to
justice through legal channels, with
international cooperation.
Very similar sentiments were expressed in a
community discussion last night, organized by
Austin's progressive activist community.
Two hundred and fifty people came together, to
express their emotions and their
experiences, to share ideas and information, and to plan
future actions.
From the beginning, it was clear that
people really needed to talk. There was no good way
to cope with the flurry of hands that was
raised at every pause.
One young man tearfully expressed his fear
that, with all the talk of America going to war,
the draft would be reinstated and that he
would have to kill or die in an effort he opposed.
Several were afraid of the loss of our
civil liberties. Others shared their fear for friends,
relatives, and friends of friends who
worked near the World Trade Centers, and who had not
been heard from. Everyone felt grief and
anger that so many innocent people were killed.
Many, however, expressed strong emotions of
a different kind. Deep disquiet with their
friends and acquaintances caught up in a
vortex of fury, often racist in tone. Anger at the
mainstream media, almost universally
perceived to be even worse than government officials
in their constant calls for blood
somebody's, anybody's. Guilt, pain, and sorrow on
contemplating the seemingly inevitable
killing of innocent civilians being planned by our
government.
And, far and away the most common feeling,
isolation. Many expressed their heartfelt
gratitude that the discussion had been
organized, because they had been feeling, "Nobody
else thinks the way I do."
After talking through their feelings, many
who had been sunk in despair felt newly energized
to do what they could to head off war, and
the discussion ended in a massive organizing
meeting.
The lesson is clear. There are many, many
people in this country who see clearly that one
killing of innocents will not be requited
by another, that a radically different path is needed to
assure our security and that of people in
other parts of the world.
In the days to come, if those people rely
only on the television and the big daily
newspapers, they will feel isolated and
beleaguered, deprived of their voices and their
democratic right to help shape the public
dialogue.
That will be a tremendous tragedy. Even
though this is an incredibly difficult time to speak
up, and voices against war will inevitably
be branded as apologists for terror, this is also a
very important time to speak up. Americans
have seen up close the tangible effects of our
foreign policy, and they are interested as
they have not been since the nuclear freeze
movement, maybe even since the Vietnam war.
Let us call, then, for communities across
the country to have similar dialogues, to work
through feelings of pain, fear, and grief
and begin to fashion a coherent response to
warmongering before the war is upon us. We
who favor peace must create our own national
dialogue before we can hope to influence
the larger one.
Austin could have such a large meeting on
such short notice because of a multi-year
sustained effort (www.nowarcollective.com),
centering around antiwar work, that has built up
a very large (4000) e-mail announcement and
rapid response list. Localities without that
kind of infrastructure may take a little
longer, but the need for timely action is great.
Rahul Mahajan is an antiwar activist, and
serves on the Coordinating Committee of the
National Network to End the War Against
Iraq and the Board of Directors of Peace Action (ID only).
He can be reached at rahul@tao.ca
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